


The beginning of the end

by Yuufa



Category: Fate/EXTRA
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 23:36:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17171612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuufa/pseuds/Yuufa
Summary: What is Leonardo B. Harwey thinking before his fight with Hakuno Kishinami?





	The beginning of the end

**Author's Note:**

  * For [headlonggirl](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=headlonggirl).



> This is a secret santa gift for headlonggirl that I made for the Fate Secret Santa 2018 project on twitter! I'm sorry that I've only come to post it now, but I still hope that you can enjoy it. On that note, I hope that I've characterized both Leonardo and Gawain well enough, as they were admittedly hard to write for me... Still, I wanted to give it my all for you, so there it is! Happy holidays to you!

Leonardo Bistario Harwey was certain of his victory.

Thus far, he had slain six masters to come to the seventh floor - which was anything but a surprise, of course. It was completely natural for him to have bested all his foes, as this was his designed path. A king does not lose, after all.

There was only one master left before he could secure the Holy Grail - and that master’s name was Hakuno Kishinami.

An unremarkable girl in every sense of the essence, but that is the reason why she was so remarkable to him. Their differences were so vast that Leonardo couldn’t help but be intrigued by her existence. From the very beginning, he had observed her quietly from afar, trying to understand how a girl like her was capable of defeating one strong master after another. A girl who had nothing, yet still pushed on forward no matter how many times she stumbled and fell along the way. Despite the jarring odds against her, she would always stand up and manage to emerge victorious from a battle that she had slim chances of winning to begin with. It was rather fascinating to behold, but it came with bemusement as well.

Truly, she was someone that he couldn’t comprehend for the life of him. A true enigma to the heir of the Harwey family.

Perhaps that is the reason why he was looking forward to their battle now. There was still so much that he wanted to learn from Hakuno, yet he could barely wait for their final fight to begin.

However, he mused to himself, if it weren’t for the situation at hand, he would have liked to get to know her better - to become ‘friends’ with her. Although Leonardo was aware what the term friendship meant, he never had such people in his life. Why would he? A king does not need friends - though at the same time, he could not help but desire it nonetheless. Said feeling surprised even himself, but it didn’t feel like as if it was a bad thing altogether.

Thus, if there was anyone out there that he would have liked to form such a bond with, it would be Hakuno. They may never be true equals, but he wouldn’t mind helping her out. However, did simply helping out entail to a friendship already? For some, it seemed like as if that was the case, but for others, not so much. From what he knew and observed, friendship could take many forms; it was chaotic, yet enchanting. A truly confusing matter, if he thought about it, but it only served to pique his interest even further.

The longer his mind wandered, the more he couldn’t help but feel that it was a shame that everything would come to an end soon. However, that was the course of life - prolonging the last fight any further would be meaningless. They were mere minutes away from making their way to the elevator which would bring them down to the last stage of this Holy Grail War. And as he’d mentioned before, he was looking forward to it.

A contradiction, was it not?

His ever-so-present smile grew a bit wider.

”Master?”, a familiar voice called out to him, accompanied by the soft rattling of steel. Snapping back to reality, Leonardo blinked twice, before he turned away from the windows he’d looked out of to face his servant who knelt in front of him. Faithfully and pure as ever, that one - and Leonardo couldn’t have asked for a better servant than him.

(A sentiment that would resonate much stronger later on, he would soon learn.)

“What is it, Gawain?”, the blonde boy inquired, sounding as calm and collected as ever. Why would he sound any different to begin with? It’s not like as if he was concerned about the battle with Hakuno and her servant; as sad as it was to part with her soon, it was a necessity in his goal. Furthermore, their defeat was absolute - he knew that they didn’t stand a chance against Gawain, for their victory was assured.

It simply couldn’t be helped.

“Would you impart with me what you were thinking right now?”, Gawain asked with a question of his own. The boy could already tell that his servant had noticed the slight change in his facial expression, for he was an astute observer. Not seeing any reason not to answer his inquiry, Leonardo responded truthfully:”Contradicting feelings are rather odd, don’t you think so, too?”

The sun knight blinked in return, tilting his head ever-so-slightly. On cue with his silent query, Leonardo elaborated:”On one hand, I would like to learn more about Hakuno, which would undoubtedly require more time - however, on the other hand, I can barely still myself for our swords to cross. I couldn’t help but think that this was curious, is all.”

“I see…”, Gawain began as he nodded, before picking up a moment later,”It is curious indeed.”

“Did you feel the same once upon a time, Gawain?”, now it was Leonardo’s turn to pose a question on his servant. Said man seemed to think for a few moments, before he nodded solemnly:“... Yes, I did. It was a long time ago, however.”

“I see.”

After that, silence enveloped the room once more, leaving both master and servant to their own thoughts. Most others would have probably spoken more to each other in this particular situation, but Leonardo saw no reason to do so. After all, everyone else did it because they weren’t certain whether they’d emerge victorious from their next fight or not - a fear that didn’t apply to him, as Leonardo could not even imagine the concept of defeat applied to him.

“It’s time, Master”, it was Gawain who first broke the diverting silence. Leonardo gave a curt node and smiled at his servant, now completely turning to him. “That it is. Let us depart, Gawain. It’s time to end this all.”

Gawain bowed his head once more and responded earnestly:“As you wish, my liege. My blade will carve the path for you, as it always has.” Afterwards, he rose up to his full height and stepped aside to let his master step out of the door first that he had graciously opened for him. Leonardo’s smile grew more appreciative and he took his first step out of his room.

His win was certain and absolute.

That was an unshakable belief- nay, an unshakable truth.


End file.
